473 Infant deaths in Mizoram from April to December 2013

At least 473 infants below one year died in Mizoram during April to December last year while ten mothers died during pregnancy and delivery over the same period, a senior official has said. According to Dr. Gordon Zohmingthanga, Mission Director of the State National Health Mission, there were 14,825 pregnant women while 16,156 new-born babies reported in the state during the period. “The Sample Registration System Survey, 2012 revealed that the national Infant Mortality Rate for a year was 42 in every 1,000 and the rate in Mizoram was 35 in every 1,000 pregnant women,” he said. He said that 89 per cent of the delivery was safe delivery (delivery in hospitals) while it was 98 per cent in Aizawl district and southernmost Lawngtlai district was the lowest at 62 per cent.